Out of the Darkness
by Moose1516
Summary: What if Kohaku was stuck in dragon form? What if thousands of years have passed? What if Chihiro returns? What if the author ate your pancakes? discontinued
1. Chapter 1

Hey everyone! This is my first fanfic on this site so DON'T EAT MEH D8.

If you don't understand something, please ask and I'll explain it. Enjoy

Disclaimer- I am not Japanese, therefore there is no possible way that I could own Spirited Away

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Haku walked down the hallways that lead to his boss's office. The walls were mostly covered in red but it was hard to tell because of the giant vases that lined them. With one step at a time, he continued toward his destination.

Dressed in his usual outfit of white and blue with neat kept green highlighted hair, one might think that he was just going to see the old crone like many times before. He was, of course, the one who had to do all of Yubaba's dirty work and was force to do it all thanks to the black slug the witch gave him. That was all before a young girl saved him and gave him his name back.

Haku took a left turn though yet another red door. There was no emotion written on his face. His cold emerald eyes showed what seemed like nothing but deep down he was afraid. If Yubaba smells the smallest whiff of fear, who knows what the powerful witch would do to him. His thoughts wandered back to the very reason that gave him enough confidence to do this.

_Chihiro_. Haku felt something warm in his heart every time he thought of her. Her image was burned into his memory. Her dark chestnut hair was held up by a shimmering purple hair tie. The stray hairs framed her small child like face. He remembered when he saved her from his now long gone river. She fell in at the young age of three because she dropped her little pink shoe in the water. He had to save her of course being the great spirit of the Kohaku River.

His thoughts wandered back to the events that happened just a day before. A lot happened that day and it was all thanks to her. She gave him his true name back and saved him from certain death. The small ten year old girl broke the walls that surrounded his cold heart. It hurt him when she had to leave to go back to the human world but he knew that she didn't belong here within the world of spirits. He promised to meet her again but deep down he know that that promise could not be kept.

A pinch of gilt tugged at his heart. It was in the nature of a river spirit to value promises but this one was impossible to keep. The only way to the human world would be through his river but now it's gone. He was stuck. He only made that promise to see one more smile on her face.

Haku would always cherish the memory of her. Before setting off to see Yubaba, he talked to the old boiler man, Kamanji. The spider legged man told him that the young girl saved him from the oldest kind a magic, love. Haku has heard of love before from the elders. They said that love was a wondrous and rare thing. All filled with joy and happiness but can also be dangerous. Haku didn't understand this. How can something so filled with happiness also be filled with hurt? He just didn't get it.

Haku stopped in front of a rather large red door and knocked three times. There was something tugging at the back of his mind. Something screaming at him for him to stop, turn around, and forget it. He quickly shook it off when a loud cracking voice sounded behind the door.

" Come in"

The door opened and Haku stepped into a very interesting room. The room was filled with many clashing colors but mostly a ruby red. Papers were stacked on top of each other while a giant fire place filled with a hungry blaze lit the room. Soft snoring could be heard from the next room where Boh, Yubaba's son, was resting peacefully. A giant desk sat in the middle of the room where the giant headed, big nosed old crone herself sat. Haku gave a low bow.

" Why Haku, I didn't expect you." Yubaba didn't even look up from her paper work as Haku now stood several feet in front of her desk. "What's wrong now? Are the workers still all moping about because of that little brat? Or is it the foreman? That foreman is giving me a headache. That stupid spirit. I should turn him into a -"

" I quit being your apprentice." Yubaba's head snapped up so fast that stray hairs from her grey bun fell into her face.

" What did you just say?"

" You heard me"

Haku kept his stance while Yubaba got up from her seat and stood in front of him. He could already smell her anger flaring up.

" You little whelp! You failed your mission to retrieve my sisters golden seal AND stained my carpet with your blood! What in the whole spirit world makes you think that YOU can just walk up to my office ….and…" Yubaba looked into his bright emerald eyes. They weren't the steely grey that they were before.

"You have no more power over me. I have my name back and if you don't mind I would like to leave as soon as possible." Haku gave her the coldest glare that he could ever give. Yubaba didn't even flinch. She casually walked back to her chair and sat as if the scene before didn't even happened. With a wave of her hand, Haku's contract appeared.

"Well, I guess you don't need this thing anymore" With another flick of her wrist, the paper was sent into the fire and disincarnated on contact with the hungry flames.

Haku gave another low bow.

"Thank you"

Haku stood up from his bow and turned to exit. Just as he was about to step toward the door, he froze in his place. It was that annoying little felling again but stronger. This time it couldn't be ignored.

Haku turned around just to see a blast of blues any purples come at him that were too fast to dodge. Haku fell to the floor with chains on his wrists and legs. A cloth was stuffed into his mouth and tied behind his head. He looked up from the floor to see the evil bathhouse owner with a sinister smile on her face.

"You THINK I would let you out THAT easily?' Yubaba gave an evil laugh "Such a silly little whelp. Didn't you notice the circle of candles that you walked through? "

Haku's eyes dashed from Yubaba to the candles that he could see. The candles were black with markings on them. Indeed they were made of dark magic and seemed to be some of the most powerful. The fear that Haku easily hid earlier was starting to leak through.

"By the look on you face you know exactly what these are. Darkness candles, Very hard to find too. I went though a lot of trouble to get these and kept them just incase of an emergency," Her evil grin so wide that it could compete with the Cheshire cat. "and this was defiantly an emergency."

The old witch got up from her seat and brushed the imaginary dirt off of her blue dress. She walked over to the circle of candles and with the smallest twitch of her finger, she lit the candles making them glow a brilliant purple.

" You should know that after the spell is complete you won't be able to ask for help. Then again, you won't even be able to ask." Another evil crackle sounded though the room. " No one will remember you or your little brat of a human. Any last words Kohaku?" Haku tried to speak but everything was muffled due to the cloth stuffed in his mouth.

"That's what I thought." Yubaba closed her eyes and started to chant undecipherable words. The magnificent fire that once burned brightly in the fire place was nothing more then a few burning ashes. The room was filled with a purple light for just a short second and an invisible wave of magic swept through the entire bath house. Then all was quiet.

Yubaba opened her eyes and saw her result. A large emerald manned dragon with shining silver scales and half opened green eyes that seemed to pierce through the dark was lying on the floor in chains. His wolf like snout was wrapped with a piece of cloth that made him unable to admit any kind of sound. The chains were dark colored and were obviously laced with an unimaginable amount of magic.

The dragon was growing weaker and his mind was getting bleary. His heart was threatening to burst out of his hide. He felt, for the first time in centuries, useless. He knew these chains were sucking his powers away. Dragons need a certain amount of power to stay alive and he knew Yubaba was going to suck out as much as she can.

" My dear Haku," She said with much hardness in her voice. ",you will be my apprentice and do everything I command. You see," Yubaba held up a small bottle with green glowing substance inside." I have most of your magic. Dragons can't live without a certain amount. So luckily for you, you have enough to survive. Oh and what is this?" Yubaba took out what looked like another bottle but filled with a more bluish glow to it. " Why, it looks like your human form. It would be a shame if anything bad happened to this wouldn't it?"

That was the last thing Kohaku had heard before he closed his eyes and was over come by sleep.

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A thin piece of T shaped paper slipped out of its hiding place behind the bookcase. The person who was controlling the enchanted piece of paper frowned.

She watched her cold hearted sister lift, using magic of course, the wounded dragon and place it in what seemed like a room that wasn't there before.

"Oh dear, it looks like my sister has gone too far." The enchanted piece of paper slipped

through the crack in the bottom of the window and flew back to its owner.

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Thanks for reading! I GIVE EACH OF YOU A COOKIE 8D Please review! 


	2. Chapter 2

HAHA! SO I HAVE RETURNED WITH A NEW CHAPTER 8D

First, I would like to thank the people who reviewed!

Next I would like to start the chapter!

Disclaimer- I do not own spirited away

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An old yet cozy cottage sat in the middle of what looked like an old swamp. The soft glow of light that came from the inside lit a small garden just under the window. An odd lantern hung silently near the entrance. Everything was quiet. Maybe a bit too quiet, but inside the cottage, a small whistle from a tea kettle broke the silence.

An old woman sat in one of the corners of the cottage. She sat in an old rocking chair concentrating on the piece of clothing that she was creating. She wore a small little blue dress and small golden rimed glasses. Her big head seemed way too big for her body and the white hair on her head was put neatly up in a bun.

As she continued working on her project, a black blob turned its attention to the whistling tea kettle hanging above the fire. The only thing he wore was a round shaped white mask with red markings on it. It also looked like three holes were cut out on the mask for eyes and a mouth but all that is seen is black.

The black monster carefully carried the tea kettle with his short hands to a table near where the old woman was currently seated. Being careful about not spilling it, he poured some tea into a tea cup that rested on the small table.

The old woman broke her concentration and set her work on her lap. She reached over and picked up the small tea cup to take a sip of the liquid substance.

"Thank you No Face that was very kind of you" No Face replied with a mumbled 'uhs' as to say "you're welcome". He then set the tea container down on the table and went back to what he was doing before.

In some odd way, the warm tea reminded her of something, or rather someone from long ago. It has been many years since a small human girl by the name of Sen, or Chihiro, made the trip from Aburaya to her little cottage in swamp bottom. She admired her bravery and courage to make the trip in a world that wasn't even hers. She did it out of love and the determination to save her sick friend. Then again he would have been fine if Yubaba, her twin sister, didn't send him to retrieve her precious golden seal.

The old witch frowned at the thought of her sister. They used to be the best of friends before they both built the bath house. Then Yubaba was overcome with greed and clamed the bath house all hers. Then again if it wasn't for her, she wouldn't have meet Chihiro.

She thought of her as an adoptive grand daughter. She even asked her to call her granny instead of Zeniba. The old witch missed her dearly but knew that time in the human world was very different from her own world. Chihiro could have died by now but then again, there was a small chance that the elders would let her become a spirit.

Zeniba chuckled at the thought and continued to sew. Chihiro? A spirit? It was possible. What kind of spirit would she be? A dog spirit? She was very loyal. Maybe not an animal. A plant spirit? Maybe a river spirit? The Chihiro River, that had a nice ring to it. Zeniba's thoughts wandered.

Suddenly the old shudders rattled to life signaling that the old witch had a guest.

"That's strange. I wasn't expecting a guest" Zeniba set down her knitting needles and stood up from her chair. She quickly walked over to the door knowing that it was not polite to keep a guest waiting.

As Zeniba opened the door to welcome her guest in, the only thing she came into contact with was air. She raised her eyebrows in confusion and she looked to the right and left. Was this a joke?

A sudden soft snore was brought to her attention. She looked down toward her feet to see a small bundle of cloth that was moving softly up and down the signaling that something living was in it. Zeniba picked up the small bundle of cloths as carefully as she could. As she laid the small bundle on the weight of one arm, she used her other hand to flip a loose flap of cloth that seemed to block the source of the snore.

The old witched smiled warmly at her new found treasure. A baby with a soft patch of brown chestnut hair was sleeping peacefully in her arms. There were small markings on both of the child's chubby cheeks that meant that it was a lion spirit. Zeniba could tell that is was a girl by just looking at the child's small innocent face. The baby girl looked awfully familiar to her but she couldn't put her finger on it.

Zeniba took one last glance outside before she went inside with the baby. Only a small gust of wind met her face. She quietly walked back into her cottage and closed the door that made a small click in response.

She silently carried the sleeping baby making sure that she didn't wake her up. With the flick of a wrist a small crib appeared near the back wall. Zeniba gently placed the baby in the crib and quickly used magic to finish what she was working on earlier. The small piece of cloth turned into a giant sparkling blue blanket laced with many protection spells. Zeniba quickly took the newly made blanket and tucked it around the little child.

No Face curiously walked over to see the new addition to the cottage and stared down at the sleeping baby.

" I think we have a new addition to the family" Zeniba said as another warm smile spread on her face but her smile disappeared into shock as the little one shifted to get into a more comfortable position. Her eyes caught a shimmer of purple coming from the baby's wrist. It was the very piece of string that Zeniba gave to someone very special years ago.

_Chihiro_

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SO OUR HERO HAS RETURNED! dramatic pose

Please review


	3. Chapter 3

THANK YOU FOR THE REVIEW!!

Key-

_Italics- Thoughts_

Disclaimer- I do not own Spirited Away

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Zeniba looked at the figure in front of her. It has been 17 short years, well to spirits it's short, since a small infant was left on the ground before her door. She had used all of her knowledge to raise the child and she had to admit, sometimes she just wanted to turn her into a pig. Like the when she was a little cub, climbing on the tables unknowingly with her claws and scratching up the furniture. Of course she never did because she didn't have the heart. 

It was a rare sight to see a baby spirit of any kind because everyone in the spirit would is immortal. Most mated couples would have a spell cast on then so that they wouldn't have children unless thy wished it. So, as soon as the baby was on her doorstep, the old witch could not refuse the precious cargo.

She raised the small baby girl as if she was her own child. She refused to be call mom, mommy, mama, and all those. She wasn't the child's mother and therefore should not be called mother. Instead she allowed the child to call her Granny but still loved her as a daughter.

Her thoughts wondered back to when she read about the lion spirits ageing process. For the first 17 years of their life, they don't grow like a spirit but like a human. After those 17 years, they start to age like normal spirits, who choose what ever age they want to be. Of course Zeniba and her twin didn't have a choice to age.

She chuckled at the thought. She remembered the day when she and her sister were young and the proud new owners of the bath house. They had gotten into an argument and unknowingly were disrupting a powerful guest who later turned them into two ugly twin crones. But enough of that now.

"The journey from here to the bathhouse is dangerous so make sure you stay on the train tracks."

" Ok. Are you sure Yubaba will give me a job?" the figure had a nervous look on her face. She knew that granny's sister had a bad attitude and short temper. How did Zeniba talk her into going to the bathhouse and getting a job? She couldn't remember but she knew it had to do with a certain boy or someone.

" Do not worry dear. She took an oath a long, long time ago about giving a job to anyone who asked for it. You will be fine" Zeniba took a step forward to hug the figure. "you better leave now, it's almost sunrise."

" I'm gonna miss you Granny!" The teenager hugged back " I won't forget you"

Zeniba held the girl out at arms length, well…. nose length " I will be checking up on you every now and then. I know you won't forget. Remember, a person is never truly forgotten." There was a small twinkle in the witches eyes that the girl failed to notice.

"Now go" Zeniba let go and gave a warm good luck smile.

The girl turned and gave a small wave to No Face who was standing there watching the scene. " Good bye No Face" the girl said while No face responded with a few 'uhs' and a smile on his mask.

Zeniba wasn't worried about the young huntress at all. She had filled her head with as much knowledge as she could. She also taught her how to defend and hunt like a true lion spirit giving her her own bow and quiver of arrows.

Zeniba was surprised when she read that lion spirits didn't have any magical powers besides shape shifting into lions. She wondered why the elders decided that. Maybe it had something to do with Fate and one thing Zeniba knew was to never mess with fate.

Zeniba looked at the sun rising. She could sense the wet season coming and that meant that she would have to use magic to un flood her garden again. Another thing that she learned from the wonderful work of books was that all cat spirits did not naturally know how to swim and absolutely despised water well all of them except Chihiro. She absolutely loved the rain but still didn't know how to swim. The old witch thought that the trait was because of a certain thing, or rather someone, from her previous life.

After releasing the hug the young girl turned to face the woods that lead to the train tracks. She only walked a few feet before her form rapidly changed into a large four legged creature. Her weapons were no where to be seen and her tan colored clothes were replaced by chestnut colored fur. There was a symbol on her front leg which use to be her shoulder and at the right angle, a purple shimmer could be seen from her left leg. Her honey brown eyes held much wisdom but also had a playful side to them.

The girl, now lioness, stood facing the woods without looking back. The only movement that was her ear twitching in annoyance from the morning bugs. As if she was being shoot from a cannon, the young lion jumped into a sprint into the woods.

" I will see you soon Chihiro" The raven nosed woman smiled and turned to No Face. " No Face, if you would be so kind as to water the flowers?"

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Chihiro was not use to this. Not use to this at all. All the sounds and smells were so intoxicating. 

" PRETTY POTS!!"

" ROSTED NEWT!!! FOR JUST THREE PIECES OF SILVER!"

" FISH! GET YOUR JIANT KOI HERE!"

The chestnut lion licked her lips as she walked through the streets of the town in the shadow of the Aburaya. _NO CHIHIRO!! YOU CAME HERE TO GET A JOB!!But …it smells…soo.. NO NO!!! BAD CHIHIRO BAD!!! _The lioness shook her head and let out a small growl of annoyance. She must get to the bathhouse before she is tempted by that big… juisy….fis- _DAMIT!_

Chihiro started at a run toward up the stairs, past the restaurants where big blobs sat, and toward Aburaya. She literally skidded to a stop when she reached the red wooden bridge. She heard the frogs greeting spirits to her left side.

A bit out of breath, she looked up at the magnificent building that stood before her. With her enhanced feline senses, she could smell the burning coals that heated the baths and a small, barely noticeable scent of flowers. She turned her head curiously looking for the scent of the burning coals and found a large pillar with smoke coming out of it. Also a white flag with the symbol for oil caught her eye. Chihiro subconsciously looked down at her own symbol that was tattooed on her shoulder.

Flashback

" _Granny? Why did you tattoo my name on my shoulder?" A young Chihiro asked_

"_Well dear it is very important that you never forget your name. If someone were to take it from you, they could control your life and your memories could be taken away too. Your name is precious to you. Never forget it."_

End flashback

Granny reminded her everyday to never forget her name and she probably never will forget, or so she thinks. Again she looked up at the building as if to get a perfect picture of it in her head. She couldn't place it but the building looked familiar some how.

" Excuss me huntress but you are blocking the way" Chihiro looked at the frog who just spoke and let out a small apologetic growl.

Clearing her thoughts, she started a small trot like walk across the bridge alongside other rathere large spirits in brightly colored robes. _If granny is correct, then Yubaba's office on the top floor._ Chihiro entered the main entrance and found that it was a lot warmer in the bath house compared to the outside; probably due to all the hot baths.

Chihiro got caught in the crowd and just wandered until she found herself on a bridge that was suspended over the first floor baths. Curiosity got the best of her and she stuck her head between the red wooden posts to look down at all the baths.

All the steam and hot air rushed into her face and even though she didn't have a bath, she already felt refreshed from the steam rising from the baths. She felt relaxed a bit sleepy from her long trek.

Suddenly a silent ding reached her sensitive ears which swerved in the direction of the source. _THE ELEVATOR!_

Chihiro quickly retracted her head and ran to the source of the sound. She turned a corner and then another to reach the elevator. _OH NO! THE DOORS!_ Luckily a kind blob of a spirit wearing a red pot like hat, saw the sprinting lioness and held the door open.

Chihiro jumped into the space that was left just before the sound of doors shutting entered her ears.

Chihiro, aka the very hungry lioness being squished by a rather large vegetable, was trying to fight the urge to take a big bite. Dismissing the thought, she got on another topic. Who was this boy that granny had talked about? Where was he and how would she know who he was?

A low grumbling sound came from the giant radish shaking her out of here thoughts. Apparently she had arrived at her destination with out even noticing. _I got to stop doing that. _

The lioness walked out of the elevator then turned around to make a bow like gesture to the Spirit. Not long after, the doors closed and Chihiro was by herself.

Chihiro walked up to the red door and placed her two front paws on the door. She shifted her weight into her paws and stretched her neck to lift the door knob with her nose. She repeated the action with her nose for three times before she noticed the door knob come alive.

" What ever you do DON'T spoil the carpet."

Chihiro was taken back by surprise at the snappy remark of the magical door knob. She let out an annoyed growl before the door swung open taking her by surprise. She lost balance and tumbled onto the floor.

" You know, for a cat you are pretty clumsy"

Chihiro felt an invisible force pull her through the hallways and dump her into an extremely tacky office.

" I apologize for that but I'm in a bit of a hurry." Chihiro shifted herself to a sitting position. She could feel the heat coming from the fireplace behind her.The glow of the fire illuminated the face of an old witch with the same looks as Zeniba. She was sitting behind a wooden desk with papers stacked on either side. She looked totally focused in her work. _This has to be the one and only Yubaba._ _She won't even look up from her work!_

The sound of thumping and grunts stole Chihiro's attention away. Three ugly bouncing heads rolled around her as if to examine her. Chihiro beared her teeth and sent a threatening growl.

" Oh be quiet! You are annoying our guest! Go bother Kohaku!" Yubaba, still not looking up from her work, made a small motion and a door near the right side of the office opened. Chihiro's eyes followed the annoying disembodied heads as they entered a darker room. The door shut behind them but not before Chihiro caught a hint of silver.

" Do not be threatened young huntress. Nothing here will harm you. You may change."

Chihiro took in a breath and the lion disappeared leaving a human standing in her place.

" Now state your business"

" I would like a job please"

"Very well" With a flick of a finger, Yubaba, without looking up from her work, sent a pen and a contract toward the girl. " Now you understand that your weapons, powers and all your possessions will be taken away for as long as you work here. You will be given your own set of clothes and your meals will be provided"

Chihiro nodded her head in understanding and placed her paper on the hard floor so she could sign it properly. As soon as she lifted the pen off the paper, the thin piece of paper flew into the direction of Yubaba.

The witch grabbed the paper and her eyes immediately widened at the name she saw. She finally shifted her big head to see the young spirit in front of her then to the paper in front of her. _So the brat has returned. She has better manners too. May be I can use her to my advantage._

" So, your name is Chihiro? What a pretty name," Yubaba smirked as she looked at Chihiro who currently was wearing a face of determination. " Well, it's mine now"

She hovered her hand over the piece of parchment making her many rings shine in the fire light. Part of the signature on the paper lifted up into her hand and as they touched her palm, she grabbed them. " From now on, your name is Sen. Answer me Sen!"

"Yes ma'm" Chihiro answered still standing. A few moments before, she felt her powers leave her along with her bow and arrows. She watched as Yubaba's head shifted to a human like skull sitting on a pile of books. " Foreman!" Yubaba shouted into the skull. Chihiro watched in hidden amazement as the skull started talking as if is was still part of a living body.

" Yes ma'm?"

"Send Lin up here right away"

In a record breaking few seconds, the door opened to reveal a woman who looked to be in her early twenties. She wore a pink outfit with a blue apron tied around the waist. Sen guessed that she would soon be wearing that particular outfit very soon.

" You called ma'm?" The women named Lin asked

" Yes take Sen here and show her the works. She will be your new partner. Now leave."

* * *

Kohaku opened a lazy eye too see three heads roll into his room. Grumbling in annoyance, he recoiled his body so that he didn't face the door or the bothersome heads. He opened his eyes to see a solid wall in front of his face and lazily stared blankly at it. His eyes, the ones that use to be full of warmth and happiness, were now sporting a dullish green mixed with a shad of gray. 

He hated being trapped. Absolutely despised it. It's not like Yubaba has been keeping him in a dirty old cage with only a small dish of water and pinch of food. He was given his own room that adjusted to his growing size and was fitted with a giant pillow to act as a bed. Yubaba gave him decent food and even let him take baths after missions. As long as he did what she told him to do.

Sometimes Kohaku could sense that, she too, lost a loved one and felt bad for trapping him. She wasn't an evil woman. Just a business obsessed single mother. He guessed that her loved one was Boh's, Yubaba's baby, father. She doesn't talk about her husband much.

Thinking of Yubaba's loved one made his thoughts drift back to Chihiro. He knew that it has been many years since she passed away and it saddened him that he didn't keep his promise. She was the only person that had gotten to see the true him and not the cold henchman. She was the only one and he lost her. That is why he never lets anyone see his kind loving side.

All over the bathhouse he is known as Yubaba's dragon. Her frightening, dangerous, threatening, mean, cold hearted pet and it will always stay that way…forever.

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PLEASE REVIEW 8D 


	4. Chapter 4

Ahh I'm sick DX my head is really starting to hurt DX

Disclaimer- Me no own Spirited Away XP

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Sen followed the salmon colored woman though the hustle and bustle of bath house. To her left, Sen could see swamp spirits, aka frogs, putting red berries onto different platters that carried the exact same meal. To her right, big headed women wearing a colorful uniform, walked past while balancing trays. Through all this movement and sounds, she and the spirit, supposedly called Lin, had said nothing.

Sen followed Lin to what she thought were the kitchens. There, she watched Lin pick up a basket of little star shaped candies and a bowl of steaming hot ramen from a polished wooden shelf. Lin then thanked the frog and turned to exit with Sen in tow.

They soon entered an elevator that seemed to travel down and deeper to the base of the bath house. Sen was happy that this time she wasn't being squished or tempted by a giant living vegetable. She now had more space to move around.

Curiously, Sen step toward the back to see the open backside of the moving contraption. Unlike the last elevator, this one wasn't fancy at all and had no back or front. Its purpose was probably made just for the workers.

"You wanna loose your nose?" came a familiar yet unknown voice. The statement made Sen let out a small gasp and stumbled back to her original spot. Sen then understood that the voice came from the only person occupying the same space as she.

The older women let out a chuckle and cracked a warm smiled. "My name is Lin. what's yours?"

Sen side glanced at her now fellow worker. She didn't seem like a threat.

"My name is Sen" She answered in a small voice.

" Ya know, I admire your bravery back there in front of Yubaba. Usually once one person comes in, they never come out." Lin gave Sen a pat on the shoulder using her elbow.

" Erm.. thanks" The shy girl said while grabbing the edge of her tunic. It was an old habit of hers that she never did get rid of. She use to going to public places in her lioness form because it gave her confidence and protection but this time, now powerless, she had no escape.

" Lin?"

" Ya Sen?"

" Where are we going?"

" We are going to see the boiler man, Kamaji. I have to give him his food."

" oh… ok"

The elevator reached its destination and came to a stop. Sen followed Lin into what she thought was the area between the walls of the bathhouse wear all the gears that ran the elevators were. Sen looked up to see large wooden beams that held the bathous together and many elevators moving floor to floor.

" Come on you slow poke!"

Sen jogged past large tuning gears and caught up with Lin. She could here a deep raspy voice yelling something inaudible and some small angry squeaks coming from behind a small wooden sliding door. No doubt it was the boiler man.

Lin put down hr basket and bowl of noodles to slide open the door. Sen could now hear the angry voice with the sound of a wooden hammer hitting wood.

" Stupid balls of soot! So lazy! GET BACK TO WORK!"

" Chow time! You guys are fighting again? What's wrong this time?" Lin went through the small square shaped opening expecting Sen to follow.

As Sen ducked down to go through the door, a blast of hot, dry, herbal scented air hit her in the face. She could now hear the boiler along with my other sounds a usual boiler room carries. She could see cabinets filled with, what she thought, were the herbs that scented the baths but the one thing that interested her most was the small moving, and squeaking lumps of coal moving on a lower level part of the floor.

"Chow time! Take a break!"

Sen turned her head to the source of the voice. An old spider like man with six legs was turning a giant wheel, drinking tea, and grinding herbs. Talk about multitasking.

" How many times do I have to tell you old man! Leave your bowl out!" Lin said taking an empty bowl from the old mans work station and replacing it with a new one.

" Sorry. Who is this?" He adjusted his black lens glasses, picked up his food, and turned to Sen. Sen could now see his face which was half covered with a large beard. His head was bald and reflected the glow of the boiler. She gave a small bow. " My name is Sen. I am Lin's new assistant."

" I am Kamajii, the boiler man. I heat the baths." Kamajii said between bites of food. "So Lin, you finally got your assistant that you wanted."

" Ya it took the old hag long enough. Hey Sen do you mind feeding these to the sootballs?" Lin handed the basket to Sen.

" um.. the what?"

" The sootballs. Thy have a spell cast on them and they will turn back into soot if they stop working. They help me feed the boiler with coal. You better start feeding them or they will refuse to work." Kamaji slurped his ramen noodles.

Sen walked over to the part of the floor that dropped a level and immediately saw small black balls of soot with large white eyes. They seemed to be talking in their own language of squeaks. One finally noticed her and started jumping up and down excitedly as if he knew her. The others soon joined him and Sen started to toss them the little star shaped candies from her basket.

"What's up with them? It's like they already know you." Lin sat next to her assistant

"I don't know" Sen tossed another handful of cadies." I've never been her before."

"They probably are just happy to be fed." Kamajii was now eating what looked like a purple lobster tail.

Chihiro threw the last handful of stars into the moving mass of soot. The little soot balls squeaked as if telling her "I WANT MORE!."

"I'm sorry guys but I don't have anymore!"

" OH STOP WHINEING YOU LITTLE BRATS!!" Kamajii shouted.

" Well we better leave. Good bye Kamajii" Lin said as she started out the small little door with Chihiro in tow.

"Well I'll se you la- "

WHAM!

Chihiro immediately felt a sharp pain shoot through her head. She growled in frustration as she gave the small little innocent wooden door the evilest death glare she could ever give.

"You're such a dope!"

* * *

After visiting Kamajii, Lin and Sen went back to the women's quarters to find Sen's new uniform and to get ready for bed. _Wow! This is really comfortable!_ Sen put on her new salmon colored uniform which fit her perfectly. She put her old clothes and sandals near the corner of the room away from any futons.

" So how do I look?"

" Like a bathhouse worker. NOW GO TO BED!" Sen chucked at the annoyed Yuna who was now covering her face from the light.

" You look good Sen! Your bed is next to mine." Chihiro changed her clothes so that her apron was acting as a shirt and sat on the empty futon next to Lin's.

" What's that?"

" What's what?"

Lin pointed to the tattoo on Sen's shoulder " It says Chihiro. That's pretty, is it your name?"

" Ya I guess it is. Why did I forget my real name so fast?"

" Well, you're suppose too. Yubaba stole your name so in a way, she owns you now, that old hag." Lin shifted her position so that she was now lying down on her futon. " Soon you won't remember where you came from as least that's what happened to me."

Chihiro could see Lin's lips form a small frown but was soon replaced with a more sinister smirk.

"You better rest up because your first day is always the worst."

_Zeniba...help me…_

" LIGHTS OUT!"

* * *

She could here Lin's soft snoring next to her and another yuna shifting positions on their futon. Stray beams of light coming from an uncovered parts of the thin windows hit her face. She lay there awake thinking of the dream that she had.

The dream included the Aburaya, Kamajji, Lin, Yubaba, No Face, Zeniba, the workers, a boy and herself except it wasn't herself. She didn't have the red tattoos on her face or her name on her shoulder. Something made her feel awkward and strange, probably the fact that she looked a lot younger.

_That was the weirdest dream I've ever had._ Who was that boy? She never had met a boy like that. _I admit, he was pretty handsome._ Sen took a deep breath and sighed trying to even out her breaths so that she would fall back to a, hopefully, dreamless sleep.

_I wonder what's for breakfast_

* * *

Voughn- Ok I'll try. Haku won't come in for another chapter.

Little princess of mercury- Thanks

Katie B 16 – Thanks

Flower391169- Thanks

I love reviews don't you? XP


	5. Chapter 5

Hey!

Thank you to all my reviewers for the reviews

Sorry for not updating sooner. You probably heard the school excuse many times before so I'll stop before you start throwing rotten muffins at my head. Since I haven't updated for a while, I combined two chapters into this one. The beginning I had fun with XD

Disclaimer- I do not own spirited away. But, I do own my imagination XP

Key-

_thoughts_

* * *

" …..speak…sit….staayy……good mushroom….." 

Lin looked down at Sen's sleeping figure with a quirked eyebrow. _What is this about mushrooms? …never mind…time for the torture_. Lin cupped her hands around her mouth and…

" WAKE UP SEN!!!"

… no response….

Lin quirked another confused eyebrow. _That should have woken her up!_

" COME ON YOU DOPE!!!" Lin nudged the sleepy head in the side but all she got was a. "Mushroom…who set you…on fire"

Her attempts only led her partner to shift so that her head was no longer visible over the blanket.

Lin sat down next to her assistant and pouted. Her eyes wondered the room thinking of how she could wake up the sleeping spirit. Her eyes soon rested on a small wooden bucket near the corner of the room.

_Looks like I'll have to resort to that._

_

* * *

Chihiro was so happy that granny had gotten her a mushroom. For some unknown reason, she always wanted one, even though she couldn't figure out why. _

" _NOW SPEEK… SIT..STAY.. GOOD MUSHROOM! YAY!!" The brown eyed girl hugged her beloved pet. She held him out at arms length to get a good look at him and suddenly her mushroom spontaneously combusted. _

" _Mushroom who set you on fire?" The girl stared at the now burning pet with confusion. I guess I'll have to get some -_

Sen felt what seemed like ice cold daggers being stabbed into her back. In surprise, she sprang up into a sitting position about to pounce on her attacker but was soon hit with another bucket full of ice cold water.

It took a minute for Lin's victim to realize that Lin was standing over her with two empty buckets in her hands and that she, along with her futon and blanket, were soaked.

" WATER?!"

Lin laughed at the expression on Sen's face. " Sorry... you wouldn't wake up!"

The soaked girl gave the dry one and glare. "Now I have to work SOAKING WET!" Sen crossed her arms and started to pout.

" Hey aren't lion spirits suppose to hate water?" Lin asked handing a dry shirt to her assistant.

" Well I actually love water. I have ever since I was a cub, so I don't really mind." Sen suddenly noticed that the room was feeling a little empty. In fact, only she and Lin occupied it.

" Erm… Lin are we late?"

" OH KAMI YOU'RE RIGHT!"

* * *

Sen rang out her rag into a small bucket near the side of the room. Two hours have passed and she already felt tired. Now, she had many other pains to accompany the one that she had gotten the night before. You would too if you kept slipping on a recently polished hard wood floor. 

Apparently the workers had to wake up earlier then the guests to make everything presentable to the guests. With the food cooked, the floors polished, and most of the baths filled, some of the guests started to arrive.

" Wow Sen, keep this up and you'll turn all black and blue! You're such a klutz!" Sen looked up to see Lin with a smile on her face.

" LIN! You have the big tub!"

" HEY THAT'S FROGS WORK!"

" Orders from the top!"

" FINE! Come on Sen."

"Yes ma'm"

* * *

It didn't take that long for the two bathhouse workers to reach the big tub. Sen's jaw seemed to hit the floor at how neglected the tube looked. Dry slime was caked on the inside of the tub while dirt and slime seemed to cling on the floor and side of the tube. 

" This tub hasn't been cleaned in months!" Lin growled in frustration and then turned to her assistant. "This tub is used for the dirtiest and biggest costumers. We better clear the floor first."

_Two hours and the tube isn't even cleaned yet!_

Sen let go of her now slime covered brush and took a few deep breaths. Two hours ago she was tired and now she is exhausted. _I never knew that cleaning baths took so much work. _She wiped the small drops of sweat off of her forehead.

" You can't be tired already!" Chihiro turned toward the sound of the voice to find Lin still scrubbing the side of her tub. " If you don't toughen up, Yubaba will turn you into dragon chow."

" Dragon chow?"

" Ya, Yubaba has a pet dragon." Lin turned to her fellow worker with a serious expression. "I've heard that the dragon has eaten some bath house workers because they took a break from working. I don't want that to happen to either of us. Got it?"

Sen looked at the expression on Lin's face. Over the last day, Lin had become Sen's best friend and she kind of felt like she was an older sister. She was obviously cared about Sen and didn't want to see her get hurt.

" Got it"

" Arg this is taking too long!" Lin threw her brush on the floor and let out what seemed like her hundredth frustrated growl that night.

"Lin, why don't we fill the tub? The water will hide all of the sludge."

" Good idea!"

* * *

Sen walked through the abandoned hallways of the bathhouse. Sun light flooded in from the windows to her left while the wood underneath her made small whines as her weight shifted into her feet. It had been days, weeks, maybe even months since she had that dream, the dream of the adventure of her ten year old self but it was tonight that she had it again. 

Just like before, she had woken up in the middle of the day. All the spirits were sleeping and it was quiet. Only the sound of small waves from the outside made its way into her sensitive ears.

Yes, the wet season had come and left a beautiful ocean as a gift but Sen didn't like the generous gift.

She felt trapped.

Sen loves the water especially the rain but she just couldn't swim. Since the bathhouse was surrounded by water, there was no way out. _How can I go visit …erm……what was her name? Oh great… I'm losing my memory!_

Since Sen's mind wouldn't settle down enough for her to rest, she decided to take a walk through the now empty bath house. She remembered some one told her that walking clears the mind and plus she hasn't seen the whole bath house yet.

Sen turned the corner to find a hall of abandoned guest rooms. It was odd to see empty rooms at this time of year, in fact anytime of year.

Sen walked down the secluded hall way and immediately jumped when she heard a loud crashing sound coming from one of the supposedly empty rooms.

She froze.

With her sensitive ears, she heard a large body thrashing around on the floor followed by small deep growls.

Suddenly, the thrashing stopped and all she could her was the soft beat of her heart.

As soon as she deemed it safe, she sprung into action. Opening each room trying to find the one where the loud crashing noise came from.

Breathing in long and slow, she stepped up to the last door in the hallway. She wasn't sure want could have caused that amount of noise and hopefully it didn't wake the guests up. If it did, she would be in one heck of a problem.

Slowly and carefully, she slid open the door and prepared herself for a fight.

But the enemy never came.

Sen's eyes widened at what she had found.

The walls were scratched with deep gashes and blood. The widows and sliding door were now open to the outside letting a small breeze play with her hair. The bed and furniture were completely trashed and the balcony wrecked but all this failed to gain her attention.

A beautiful serpent like creature was sprawled unconscious on the floor and covered in a red sticky substance. Its silver scales were covered in bruises, cuts, and gashes. Its whiskers were tangled and it's long thin but strong body was sprawled awkwardly on the floor.

_A dragon_

Shaking her head, she cautiously walked over to the dragon's giant wolfish head, being careful to avoid the blood on the floor, and reached under his neck. Those stealth hunting skills really paid off.

With her pointer and middle figures, she could feel a soft beat on the underside of the dragon's neck. She let out a breath that she didn't even know she was holding and retracted her hand

" You're hurt pretty badly" Sen whispered to the sleeping dragon. " Don't worry I'll help" She stroked his soft dark green mane only to find it sticky with blood.

Sen quickly got up, not caring that her hands were still covered with sticky red blood, and opened the door. But before she left she turned her head and whispered,

"I'll be back soon. Just hold on!"

* * *

Sen quickly returned with bandages, a rag, and a small bucket of water. She knew that she couldn't take care of his whole body but in his condition, anything would help. 

She first started with the dragon's head, rubbing the blood off his muzzle and eye lids. The cuts weren't as deep as she thought but still, she knew from experience, could hurt badly.

Was this the dragon that Lin had been talking about? The cold hearted dragon who ate disobedient bathhouse workers? Hard to believe. He didn't seem that dangerous at all. In fact to Sen, he was beautiful…..as long as he didn't wake up.

With every drip of blood that she washed off, she could see his scales reflect the sunlight and make the light dance on the walls. She sadly had to cover up those scales with bandages to keep the wounds from bleeding anymore blood.

Somehow, she had this feeling in the back of her mind that told her that she knew him. That he was more then a dragon but that was absurd. She had never met a dragon before ….right?

Soon, the clear water that she had brought with her had turned into a dark liquid. She had run out of bandages at his shoulders but still continued to wash the blood off his scales.

Sen let out a yawn. She hadn't noticed that her eyes were slowly drooping and the work from the night before began to come back to her.

" Maybe a quick nap will help."

Being too tired to listen to the common sense part of her mind, she put down the now red rag and lay down next to the side of the unconscious, and maybe even dangerous, dragon. She didn't mind sleeping on the floor because right now, it was the most comfortable surface ever.

_I hope he doesn't wake up…_

* * *

His eyes slowly opened to find sunlight streaming into his room, but wait, there were no windows in his room. His eyes snapped open only to be snapped closed again because of the blinding sun light. He hissed in annoyance. 

Slowly, he raised his head and made another attempt to open his eyes. _I'm in a guest room? How did I…_

He turned his head to find a giant hole in the door that lad onto the balcony. _Yubaba won't be happy about this._

Kohaku slowly tried to get up but failed miserably. Pain seemed to race through his whole body. He held back a howl of pain before noticing his neck and chest were wrapped in something. Slowly he turned his head to avoid some pain and saw white bandages covering from his shoulders up to his neck.

_...this is really odd…..Yubaba couldn't have done this…not Boh….who?.._

Something warm cuddled into his stomach. Something soft….something….pink?

Kohaku's dull eyes landed on a girl sleeping very close to his body. She was subconsciously curled up next to his source of heat. Gray green eyes widened and a heart beated faster as the serpent looked at the face of his captive.

_Chi….Chi..Chihiro?_

Kohaku lowered his head to examine the sleeping bathhouse worker. Soft brown chestnut hair, a small blush along with red markings on her cheeks, petite body, could this be Chihiro?

A small blush could be seen on his cheeks as his captive wrapped her arms around his body. Of course he had never been this close to anyone for a very long time in fact any time.

Feeling the need to wake his captive up, he slowly, lowered his head and nuzzled his face against her hair. He could smell the soap that she scrubbed the tubs and floors with and felt her soft breaths on his neck. He blushed even more.

His efforts paid off.

" Hey Lin, I had the weirdest dream last night." Sen said as she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. " There was this beautiful dragon in one of the g-"

After her eyes adjusted to the light, Sen found that she wasn't in the women's sleeping corridors anymore…

Dull green eyes met honey brown and everything seemed to stop.

_**Chihiro…**_

Sen could have sworn that she heard the voice inside of her head. It sounded like water flowing peacefully downhill. So silky smooth and strong, it seemed like her name rolled right off the speaker's tongue.

She blinked and looked away from the memorizing serpents eyes.

Quickly, while avoiding the dragon's eyes, she stood up and gave him a deep bow.

"Please accept my apologies, I'll be going" Chihiro stayed bowed while she slowly backed up toward to door.

Kohaku could sense her blood flowing beneath her skin and hear her short fast breaths. He could smell her fear radiating off her body but he still kept his eyes on her bowed figure as it moved slowly toward the door.

_Almost there….._

Sen had two more full steps until she could leave the room and run back to the women's corridors. Too bad she tripped over the dragon's tail…

_How did that get there?!_

Sen landed butt first on the floor and let out a surprised breath. She still didn't look into the dragons eyes.

She suddenly felt a mix of soft hair and scales wrap around her body like an anaconda.

Trapped.

Sen closed her eyes. She expected to feel her flesh being torn off by the dragons razor sharp teeth and hear her own screams for help but the feeling never came.

Instead she heard a deep purr and felt a cool ruff surface touch the side of her face. It sent a shock up and down her spine that made her shiver. Her eyes opened and widened as she felt the cool liquid on her face.

_He….licked me?_

She knew what licks meant. In animals, it is used to show affection, but in other terms, it is translated as a…

…_.kiss?_

Sen's face immediately turned a ruby red.

_Maybe he just wants to see if I taste right…ya… I wonder what I would taste like with salt…_

Again, the dragon licked her face with his rough wet tongue which snapped her out of her thoughts. She still couldn't move because of the dragon's tight embrace but she was still shaking in fear.

Kohaku let out what seemed like a chuckle and started to lick his so called prey more and more. He smell her fear as it intensified and it was only natural for a dragon to love seeing his prey shake in fear but he didn't want her to be afraid of him. He wanted at least her trust and maybe her love.

So he continued licking her cheek, her forehead, her neck, everywhere from her neck up. She tasted like the soap and water from the baths but he didn't care. Not even the sharp pain from his injuries could ruin this moment. She had come back to him.

With every lick, Sen became less and less nervous but she still stood on edge. She could not fully trust the dragon yet. She had herd to many rumors about this specific dragon over her stay at the bathhouse.

A small whistle came to Kohaku's attention. A small whistle that only he could hear. He turned his head temporarily forgetting about his captive to the gaping hole in the wall.

_Yubaba just had to use her calling whistle…._

Kohaku lovingly nuzzled her face as if to say goodbye and released Sen from his coils. As soon as she was free, she stumbled backward and used the wall to keep her balance. She watched the dragon like a hawk as he moved toward the gaping hole in the wall as if he suddenly had forgotten her but she could have never predicted his next move.

At the last moment he licked Sen on more time …on the lips.

Quickly turning around, he sliced though the air, out the hole and up toward the top of the bath house where the whistle called him from.

Sen stopped shaking and stood dead still for a few moments after the dragon left. Her hand shot up to feel where he licked- no- KISSED her lips.

_Did I miss something?_

Through the giant missing section of wall, the afternoon sun was starting to fade behind the sea and Sen could see the lights in the town below start to magically light up.

" OH NO I'M LATE!"

* * *

I hope you liked it 

Please review


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